The question isn’t “How big can you get?”….. It’s “How essential can you become?”
At the Cannes Lions 2025, opening day, Sir John Hegarty promoted why bigger isn’t better in his keynote “Why giants can’t dance…It’s not the big that beat the small. Or the small that beat the big. It’s the bold that beat the bureaucratic.”
Now more than ever, service based businesses needing to shift “from scale to sharpness”. Not being Swiss Army knives. I’ve been walking alongside Entrepreneurs who’ve been living this truth for the past years. Here’s how they do it so well;
→ Pick their lane.
→ Stop selling “everything.”
→ Solve a real, specific problem better than anyone else.
Niche isn’t small in the Global Economy of opportunity. It’s sharp. Sharp wins and gets big.
For decades, we worshipped at the altar of BIG. Bigger offices, bigger teams, bigger client rosters, big awards cabinets, bigger everything. I did it too. When I was building The Conscience Organisation, part of me got seduced by an acquisition precisely because it felt like validation and scale. But what I learned: Scale without soul is just noise.
The Agencies That Are Actually Winning
NorthHouse Creative
Take our Compadres at NorthHouse Creative in London. They work with Coldplay, Disney, Hans Zimmer, FIFA… They’re not trying to be the biggest Immersive visual design studio in the world. They’re focused on being the sharpest, most creative. “Make Art Not Content” is their purpose. Their goal? Triple in size over three years – but through precision, not bloat. They’ve identified exactly what they do better than anyone else and they’ve built everything around Creative Artistry.
Amplify
I proudly Co-Chair Amplify, is the fastest growing Creator business in Asia Pacific and opening now the US. Co-Founders Alex Reid and Tom Maynard have been focussed on one thing, for the last five years: The Creator Economy.
Amplify’s growing list of regional and global clients include, Unilever, Spotify, Google, Estee Lauder, Unilever, Nestle, P&G, Tinder, TikTok. Amplify is not trying to be everything to everyone, they are focused on the Creator Economy. They’re laser-focused on being the world’s largest creator agency by clients, revenue and profit. Notice the specificity there? THE ONE THING. The Creator Economy and the proof is in Amplify’s circa 50% growth per year.
This isn’t coincidence. It’s what happens when you apply sharp thinking to the Positioning and Excellence pillars of the Compadres Framework.
The Five Shifts (That Actually Matter)
1. From “We Do Everything” to “We Do This Better”: Stop being a Swiss Army knife. Be a scalpel. I watched one of my Compadres go from offering 47 different services to focusing on three core capabilities. Revenue didn’t drop – it jumped 40% because suddenly, they weren’t competing on price anymore.
2. From Hours to Outcomes: The billable hour is dead. Long live the billable result. This connects directly to our Pipeline and Product pillars – healthy conversations-to-conversions happen when you’re selling transformation, not time.
3. From Hierarchies to Humans: The best structure is the one that gets out of the way of great work.This is pure People pillar thinking – right people, right seats, living and breathing your mission.
4. From More Bodies to Better Brains: AI will automate the repeatable. Your edge is what stays human and human’s Magic (read here on a previous blog The Magic Stuff Still Matters).
5. From Project Panic to Predictable Revenue: Monthly survival isn’t a business model. Build embedded relationships, strategic retainers, productized IP.
Here’s What Really Matters
The companies that will thrive aren’t the ones trying to be everything to everyone. They’re the ones that are:
- Fast (because Efficiency beats bureaucracy)
- Focused (because Positioning trumps portfolio breadth)
- Ruthlessly clear on value (because Excellence is what clients remember)
“This isn’t about getting bigger. It’s about getting better. The founder’s vision gets buried under quarterly targets and corporate speak. But creativity has always been the antidote. It’s the only competitive advantage that scales, if you let it….” Sir John Hegarty
So what’s the job of leadership? Rediscover your founding philosophy. Build a culture that celebrates originality over efficiency.
It’s exactly what we do at Compadres. We help creative entrepreneurs and leaders get sharp on what matters most. Whether that’s through our 12-pillar Framework, quarterly scorecards, or just walking alongside you as you figure out what “sharp” looks like for your business.
TRUTH BOMB: In a world of infinite choice, being specific is your superpower.
What does sharp look like for your business? I’d love to hear your thoughts. That’s exactly the kind of transformation we live for at Compadres. Walk alongside someone who’s been there.
P.S. If this resonates and you’d like to dive deeper into how the Compadres Framework can help sharpen your business’s focus, let’s grab a coffee. Virtual or real – your choice.
#wearecompadres #goalsmadereal
